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FOR the RECORDS German Churches in St VOL. 7, NO. 3 — MARCH 2015 FOR THE RECORDS German churches in St. Louis, 1830 – 1900 In 1830, St. Louis had a population of 4977 and had no spe- cifically German congregations. By 1900, it was the fourth largest U.S. city with a population of 575,238 and had more than 100 churches serving German-speaking citizens. This article will explore the European background of German de- WIKIMEDIA nominations, the development of German congregations in Reforms introduced by Jean Calvin, left, and Martin Luther formed much of the basis of German Protestantism. St. Louis, and tips for finding records. hand, had no central personality. The two most influential The Protestant Reformation reformers were Swiss. Ulrich Zwingli (1484 – 1546) was To Roman Catholics, the Reformation can seem like a minor active in Zürich, and Jean Calvin (1509 – 1564), a French disturbance on an otherwise unbroken line beginning with exile, in Geneva. Zwingli was the more radical of the two, early Christianity and continuing to the present. For Protes- but Calvin’s ideas would gain wider influence as Protestants tants, however, the Reformation was a tumultuous event re- in Switzerland, Holland, and several German territories sulting in competing denominations that continued to splin- formed churches based on Calvinist doctrine. Calvinism also ter and sometimes merge again (see chart on page 4). In had a deep impact in the British isles, where it influenced Germany, Protestantism has been dominated by Lutheran, developments in the Church of England and formed the basis Reformed, and United denominations. of Presbyterianism in Scotland. Lutheran and Reformed Protestants agreed on many issues, but they diverged on key History books commonly date the beginning of the Reforma- points, most notably on the nature of the sacraments. tion to Oct. 31, 1517, when Martin Luther nailed Ninety- Five Theses to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, Religious motives aside, many German rulers found it ad- Germany. History shows, however, that critical voices vantageous to be politically and economically independent emerged much earlier, and Luther’s theses were hardly new of the Catholic Church. Princes who supported the Reforma- ideas. What differed in Luther’s time was the alignment of tion took a stance against the Catholic Holy Roman Emperor economic, political, and religious factors permitting a refor- and his allies, leading to religious warfare. The 1555 Peace mation movement to take root. By the time Luther was ex- of Augsburg instituted the principle of cuius region, eius communicated from the Catholic Church in 1521, the church religio, which allowed a ruler to decide whether Catholicism that would bear his name was beginning to take on the form or Lutheranism would be practiced in his realm. The treaty of a separate denomination. failed to resolve the underlying conflict, leading to the Thirty -Year’s War (1618 – 1648). That conflict ended with the The Reformed branch of German Protestantism, on the other Peace of Westphalia, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 NEWS AND TIPS | ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT MARCH 2015 | PAGE 3 which also gave official recognition to the Reformed branch Reformed Protestants. Orthodox Protestants reacted of Protestantism and solidified the basic Catholic / Protestant strongly to Rationalism’s influence in the state Lutheran regional divisions that still exist in Germany. Church in the early 19th century. Pietism and Rationalism United Protestants Two further movements had an impact on the development By the early 19th century, Rationalism and Pietism had sof- of German Protestantism. Pietism, a renewal movement tened the divisions between German Protestants and within Lutheranism, began to appear in 1622. It empha- opened the way for a united denomination. Political will sized personal religious experience in reaction to what was for this development came from King Friedrich Wilhelm, considered the over-intellectualized practices of the official III, who ascended the Prussian throne in 1797. The Prus- Church. The emphasis on faith and conversion led Protes- sian ruling family converted to the Reformed faith in 1617, tants to seek common ground with others whose doctrinal although its subjects were primarily Lutheran. Friedrich viewpoints differed. Rationalism, a movement created by Wilhelm’s wife was a Lutheran, and it distressed him that the European Enlightenment, emphasized human reason he could not receive communion when he attended church over divine revelation. Its influence on German Protestant- with her. In 1817, the united Evangelical Church of the ism was established by the late 18th century, as clergymen Prussian Union was created by royal decree. began emphasizing morality over religious mystery. Al- though Pietism and Rationalism were fundamentally op- Although Reformed churches tended to accept the union, posed to each other, they both had the affect of diminishing many Lutherans continued to oppose it. Some Lutherans and dismissing doctrinal differences between Lutheran and managed to secede from the Church of the Prussian Union in 1841 to form an independent Lutheran denomination. The religious situation in Germany at the PastPorts is published by the St. Louis County beginning of German emigration Library History and Genealogy Department, located on People are accustomed to referring to “Germany” as if it Tier 5 of the library headquarters. were always a unified country. Actually, a collection of Current and past issues can be downloaded from the independent duchies, principalities and kingdoms existed web <http://www.slcl.org/pastports>. under various alliances and confederations. In 1870, the Contact us: German Empire was created under Prussian leadership. Each kingdom or principality had its own officially sanc- History and Genealogy Department St. Louis County Library tioned denomination: Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed, or 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd United Protestant. This extreme regional character meant St. Louis, MO 63131 that the Protestant Church in one state could be quite dif- Phone: 314-994-3300, ext. 2070 ferent from state to state. Each German immigrant brought Email: [email protected] the customs of his or her local church tradition to the U.S. Website: http://www.slcl.org Developments in St. Louis prior to 1840 Tours Although St. Louis was founded in 1764 by French Catho- Tours of the department are conducted on the first lics, the first resident priest, the Rev. Bernard de Limpach, Wednesday and third Saturday of the month at 10:30 was a German, who came from the Rhineland in 1776. The a.m. No registration is required. Group tours are gladly first person with a German surname baptized was Joseph arranged with advance notice by calling 314-994-3300, ext. 2070. Eberlein in 1791. The Diocese of St. Louis was formed in 1827, but no specifically German congregations, Catholic or otherwise had yet been established. NEWS AND TIPS | ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT MARCH 2015 | PAGE 4 That quickly changed as the pace of immigration increased St. Louis, Mehlville, and Des Peres, and one Lutheran con- after 1830. The Rev. Joseph Lutz, born in Baden, began gregation in St. Louis. ministering to German-speaking Catholics. Holy Ghost German Evangelical Church, the first German Protestant German Catholic churches Church in St. Louis, was founded in 1834. By 1835, Mass The first parishes created specifically for German Catholics was held regularly for German Catholics at St. Louis Uni- were St. Mary of Victories at 3rd and Gratiot and St. Jo- versity Chapel. By 1836, German missionaries arrived to seph’s at 11th and Biddle, both in 1844. That year, the Rev. organize Protestant congregations in St. Louis County. A J.G. Euland began serving St. Vincent de Paul at 9th and large group of Saxon Lutherans arrived in 1839 and organ- Park as the pastor to the parish’s German members. ized Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. German Evangelical Churches By 1840, St. Louis’s populations was 16,469—more than The German reformers used “Evangelical” (evangelisch) to triple what it had been in 1830. No German Catholic con- differentiate their congregations from those that were gregations had yet been established. Among German Prot- “katolisch,” that is, loyal to the Roman Catholic Church. estants, Evangelical congregations were organized in The term took on the generic meaning of “Protestant.” In This chart depicting the origins of the United Church of Christ shows denominational development from a Protestant perspective. The chart can be downloaded as a PDF from the Eden Seminary Archives website <http://tinyurl.com/q6n8bxc>. USED BY PERMISSION OF EDEN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SEMINARY THEOLOGICAL OF EDEN PERMISSION BY USED NEWS AND TIPS | ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY HISTORY AND GENEALOGY DEPARTMENT MARCH 2015 | PAGE 5 this general sense, every German Protestant Church, are known to have existed in St. Louis. Salem Reformed regardless of denomination, is “Evangelical.” More specifi- Church at 18th and Sullivan Streets was established in 1888 cally, “German Evangelical” refers to congregations be- and merged with Faith Evangelical and Reformed Church longing to the German Evangelical Synod of North Amer- in Jennings in 1949 to form Faith-Salem (closed in 2000). ica denomination. Its founders actively worked to over- Maple Avenue Reformed Church was organized in 1899 at come differences between Lutheran and Reformed Maple and Clarendon Avenues and last listed in the 1915 churches by creating one united denomination, as had been St. Louis city directory. done in Prussia beginning in 1817. The denomination em- Lutheran congregations ployed the generic term “Evangelical,” which could apply to either Reformed or Lutheran Protestant traditions. Most—if not all—German speaking Lutheran congrega- tions in the St. Louis area were related to the Lutheran The denomination was organized in 1840 by the Rev. Louis Church—Missouri Synod denomination. The Lutheran Nollau, and five other German Protestant clergymen meet- faith was established in the area by 700 German immi- ing at St.
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